Thomas Moore, UK equities director at SLI, told BBC radio: “We’ve got to represent the interest of our clients and our view would be no, this isn’t a good deal.

“The shares were at this level back in April, only a few months ago the company has been talking about all the activity they are doing in order to generate value for shareholders.”

Moore said the Sky price was “at a low ebb” on Friday when the bid was rumoured. “The question is whether the board is independent enough to represent the interests of all shareholders, not just the 40 per cent that is owned by 21st Century,” he added.